Northport Knots

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Sometimes when I have the camera around my neck I feel like I see things in a way my Dad might, or at least I am hopeful that I will. The lines at the Northport Boatyard caught me eye and I had to grab a few shots. I know almost nothing about boating, but there is beauty in the mundane, no? Enjoy.

I overheard a couple of the boaters talking as I was grabbing a couple shots. “What is she taking pictures of, the lines?” Funny looks were exchanged. A chuckle. I felt a bit smug that I was enjoying a tiny bit of the beauty that they walk by fifty times a day. Sometimes it takes an outsider’s eye to draw our attention to what’s right in front of us.

May your day bring you beauty in the mundane day-to-day routine. Enjoy!

Don’t forget the beauty in the messes…

big and green

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What’s big, green and full of crab grass? Aah, yes, the garden. Despite the out-of-control weeds in some areas, the garden is actually looking pretty good. Or pretty green and full of hope anyway. It’s hard to believe with all the heat and sun this summer that we haven’t yet harvested ONE red tomato. Or really much of anything else besides basil, beans and a handful of sugar snap peas. Soon enough we’ll be inundated with tomatoes and I’ll be begging for new tomato recipes, right? Please?

There is beauty in this August garden of green, no?

In case that you need help with pests in your house, contact powerpestcontrol.ca for a faster solution.How is your garden growing, lovelies? Are you harvesting anything yet or are you (impatiently) waiting for something delicious to magically come from the earth like me?

fading

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Summer’s fading, lovelies. I happily wore jeans today and although I know we’ll have more days full of sweating and swimming and cursing the humidity, the dog days are (probably) behind us. I thought before I got ahead of myself and started thinking about wearing socks again, I should check in with my summer list and see how we’ve been doing. So here goes.

  • enjoy my annual corn dog at the Cherry Festival  CHECK!
  • can and/or pickle something from our garden Not yet, because pesto doesn’t really count although I put it in a jar.
  • pick strawberries (DONE!) and blueberries to put up (freeze, jam, bake?)  CHECK!
  • eat a fresh sandwich from the Village Cheese Shanty in Leland  CHECK!
  • take the girls to the Northwest Michigan Fair. “Goin’ to the fair, goin’ to the fair, goin’ to the Northwest Michigan Fair!”  (Wren went with Grandpa and Grandma so this counts!) CHECK!
  • stay up late to be awed by the Perseid meteor showers in August (I tried looking several times this past weekend from our house and I think it was just too darn light in the bustling metropolis of Traverse City, boo.)
  • dance with the little birdies at the Cedar Polka Fest. CHECK!
  • take in a film at the Traverse City Film Festival. NOPE. Boo!
  • finish painting the house. CHECK! We hired Student Painters and it was finished in three days (more on that soon, yippppeeeee!)
  • update the kitchen and move the oven up before the littlest birdie is on the move  Not yet…
  • speaking of moving birdies… enjoy watching the littlest birdie begin to move  She mostly goes in circles still. But not for long!
  • enjoy lots of park picnics CHECK!
  • visit all the playgrounds in the area CHECK! Well, not all, but a lot so far.
  • swim with Melissa. Not yet!
  • train hard for the Sleeping Bear 1/2 Marathon in October. Training is just really getting going…
  • continue losing weight and getting fitter (did I tell you I’ve been doing an early morning boot camp? oof) Still boot camping!
  • help Wren develop her swimming skills. She has turned into a little fish this summer. So fun to see!
  • have a date night with Chris at Siren Hall with evening sunshine, gin and tonics and shrimp. CHECK! We’ve had TWO date nights, thank you very much.
  • take our first family camping trip (also taking tips and recommendations, but not your horror stories, please and thank you!) Not yet, but hopefully soon…

How ’bout you, lovelies? Are you savoring the remains of summer? I’m soaking it up while staring at a school supply list (markers!) for Wren for her primary program. Less than a month! Oh my.

 

business meets pleasure

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I just love it when I get some new work that involves a bit of everything I enjoy: spending time with my family, exploring something new in northern Michigan, photography, writing and design. Bonus: riding bikes!

I was hired recently to create a brochure for the new Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail and I wanted to share some of our family’s first afternoon on the trail and at the Glen Haven beach. We spent some time in Glen Haven this past spring flying kites, but it’s also one of our favorite beaches. Far enough away (25+ miles) to feel like we’re on vacation for the day, but close enough to remind ourselves that this IS really home. And to be trite (because someone’s got to excel at it), there’s no place like it.

We spent most of the early afternoon at Glen Haven’s rocky beach, beating the heat in Sleeping Bear Bay and collecting rocks for Wren’s growing “cool rock” collection. When we thought we had enjoyed enough of the sun and collected enough sand in the little birdie’s swim diaper, we embarked on the second leg of our afternoon adventure. We (well, Chris) got the bikes and Chariot set up for our exploration of the new paved trail.

And off we rode! It was a beautiful late afternoon to explore the trail. First we headed north out of Glen Haven toward Glen Arbor. This section is mostly shady and forested and goes through the DH Day Campground, which we hope will be the spot for our first family camping trip later this month (eeeek!). Ahem.

It felt so great to be back on bikes. It was our first real family-of-four bike ride now that I think of it!

After we hit the northern end of the trail, we headed back south out of Glen Arbor. I enjoyed the southern piece of this leg even more. The trail meandered through forest, an open meadow-meets-dunes area and ended at the Dune Climb, aka Sand Mountain.Then we turned around and headed back to Glen Haven. The trail is about five miles, but with our traveling style it was more like a ten mile ride. Plus a bit more with me yelling, “stop there so I can get a shot,” or “turn around and come back toward me.”

My favorite part? Chris repeating, “I’m so inspired! This is so cool!” Indeed.

When completed, the trail will be 27 miles long and will go from south of Empire to the Port Oneida area of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Can’t wait? Me neither. Help support the expansion of the trail by contributing to the community-supported campaign here.

I know you think I might be cursing us by saying this, but I can’t wait to ski it this winter…

How ’bout you, northern Michigan lovelies? Have you explored the trail yet? What did you think?

so big and fat

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You know how the saying goes, Mamas. Give yourself nine months to take off the weight since it took you nine months to put it on. So here we are, nine months later. And? Well I actually have been feeling healthy and strong thanks to my early morning Boot Camp class and healthier eating, but Wren asked me the other day, “Mama, why are you so big and fat?” I had to think for a bit before saying anything because I was really at a loss for how to respond. “So big and fat.” Really? Am I? Time to look at the numbers again since I’m officially still on the diet plan. I have lost twelve pounds on a good day and about ten on a bad day. Thanks to consistently working out, I have been building muscle, losing inches and getting faster (a 6:58 mile this morning!) Bonus: my clothes have been fitting better. Most importantly, I feel better about my body. After more than five years of either trying to get pregnant, being pregnant three times or nursing, I’m making peace with my body in its current season of life.

And we’re going to stop reading so many ‘opposite’ books (big person, little person) for a while, thank you very much dear library. I need a boost from my peeps!

“So big and fat?” No, not really. Especially when I look back at my “before” photo. Oh my! Not quite “there” yet, but feeling good about being here.

 

nine months

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The littlest birdie in our nest is nine months old today. Oh bright and shining one, we can’t stack up the blocks fast enough for your quick little hands. We hope you come to know how deeply you are loved even though your sister enjoys pushing you over and stealing your pacifier when she just can’t take how adorable you are anymore. Your big sister just adores you though, Phoebe Jane, and we know this because most mornings instead of running out of her room and coming to find us, we hear her run down to your room and snuggle up and play with you. This makes a Mama’s heart sing.

We are so blessed to have your beauty and joy in our presence, Phoebs. XO

 

 

Cousins

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“Cousins are different beautiful flowers in the same garden.”

We’ve had such a fun, cousin-filled summer overflowing with quintessential childhood memory snapshots. It’s so nice now that Wren’s a bit older and she can really play with all her cousins on both sides of the family and develop relationships and boss people around and share bad habits. I don’t really know my own cousins very well, but I can’t imagine my girls growing up and not knowing their cousins. I know we just get busier and busier and schedules fill up and soon enough too much time goes by and you don’t see each other… until there’s a wedding or a funeral. Boo. I hope we always make an effort to get these wonderful little ones together so they can have lifelong cousin friends.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget Wren and Griffin on the Hydroslide. I was back on the dock and I could hear Wren yelling, “go faster, Grandpa!!!” One of those “where did my baby go?” moments.

And when did sharing become fun? I’m so glad these kiddos are (mostly) over the everythingismine stage. For now!

The days are getting a bit shorter and as the sun sets on most of our cousin-filled fun, we are feeling extra grateful for our families. It takes a lot of effort to travel and take time away from work and normal life activities, but it’s worth it. Thank you!